Metallic railway-tie.



m.- s9'5,799. T 'PATENTED AUG. 11, 1908. F. SGHELL.Y I

METALLIC RAILWAY TIE. AP .:PLIOATI'0 N FILED MAY 7 1908.

m k m nl FREDERICK SOHELL, OF MILTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

METALLIC RAILWAY-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug, 11, 1908.

Application filed May 7, 1908. Serial No. 431,426.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, FREDERICK SoHELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milton, in the county of Northumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Metallic Railway-Ties, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metallic railway ties of that type formed of sheet metal and it relates more particularly to means combined with the tie for fastening rails thereto.

The principal object of the invention is to provide rail fasteners which dispense entirely with the use of nuts, and similar fastening devices which are liable to work loose.

Another object is to provide means whereby rails can be quickly secured to or released from the tie without necessitating displacement of the tie.

Another object is to provide means, combined with the fasteners, for bracing the rails, said means being particularly useful at curves or wherever the rails are subjected to more than the ordinary lateral strain.

Another object is to provide simple means for spacing the ties apart at desired intervals.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter more fully de scribed and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings is shown the preferred form of the invention.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section of a tie embodying the present improvements. Fig. 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in section of one end portion of the tie. Fig. 3 is a section on line A-B, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail View of one of the locking keys. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the holding spring used in connection therewith, portions of the springs being removed. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the end plates of the tie. Fig. 7 is an elevation of one form of lever used for'manipulating the spring. Fig. 8 is a section through a portion of the tie and showing a modified means for use in connection therewith to prevent creepmg.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates the body of the tie, the same being formed of a sheet of steel or other suitable metal folded to form a boxlike body, the longitudinal edges of the sheet being secured together by rivets or in any other suitable manner as indicated at 2. Lips or projections 3 are struck downward from the bottom of the tie and extend transversely thereof, said lips having perpendicular faces designed to engage the roadbed and prevent the tie from creeping longitudinally in either direction. As shown in Fig. 1 those of the lips at one side of the center of the tie are arranged oppositely to those at the other side thereof. The sides of the tie are provided with threaded openings 4 near the ends thereof designed to receive the threaded ends of spacing and connecting rods 5 which can be either tubular or solid and each lip, as shown in Fig. 3, is designed to engage two ties and thus hold them properly connected. Nuts 6 may be arranged upon these rods for the purpose of preventing them from un screwing after they have once been properly positioned in the ties.

Stop projections 7 are struck upward from the tie and are arranged in pairs, the projections of each pair being spaced apart a sufficient distance to permit the positioning therebetween ofv the rail or rails to be fastened and the brace or braces used in connection therewith.

In Fig. 1 a single rail and brace have'been shown upon one end portion of the tie while two rails, one of them being a guard rail, and their braces are shown upon the other end portion of the tie. here a main rail 8 and a guard rail 9 are to be employed they are placed upon the tie and between the projections 7 which are properly spaced apart and if braces are to be employed one brace may be located between each rail and the adjoining projection 7. As shown in the drawings each brace consists of a base 10 having upstanding arms 11 at the sides thereof so shaped as to bear against the head of the rail, that portion of the base contacting with the base of the rail being notched as shown at 12 to receive a fastening key. Studs 13 extend downward from the outer corners of the base 10 and are designed to project through openings 14 in the tie. When the braces are in position they bear at opposite edges against the adjoining projections 7 and the adjoining rail and keys a are designed to be inserted through the notch 12 of each brace and through corresponding openings 15 formed in the top of the tie.

As shown particularly in Fig. 4 each key consists of a head 16 and an angular stem 17 provided with a rounded portion 18 terminating in an elongatedretaining button 19. After the key has been placed in the opening 15 with its angular portion 17 therein it becomes impossible to rotate the key because the opening 15 is also angular. A key 1) similar to the key a is inserted. through the top of the tie between the two rails so that its head 16 will bear upon the base flanges of said rails. It will thus be seen that where two rails are employed three keys are utilized, one being interposed between the rails and one engaging the inner and outer flanges respectively of the inner and outer rails. A bolt or rod 20 is arranged transversely within the tie and is engaged by an eye 21 formed at one end of an elongated spring plate 22. This plate has alining longitudinal slots 23 therein intersecting the transverse corrugations 2 1 formed within the plate 22. These slots are spaced apart sufficient distances to receive the keys a and Z) and the slots 23 are so proportioned as to receive the buttons 19 when turned to one position. A tongue 25 is formed at the free end of the spring 22 and this spring is so mounted that said tongue will project beyond one end of the tie body. An end plate 26 is designed to be seated within each end of the tie body and has a dove-tail projection 27 at one edge designed to flt within a corresponding recess 28 in the end of the tie body. A11 opening 29 is formed in the central portion of the endplate and is designed to receive the tongue 25, which tongue has an opening 30 for the reception of a cotter pin 31 or other suitable means for preventing displacement of the end plate upon the tongue.

As shown at the left of Fig. 1 where only a single rail is to be fastened upon the tie it is necessary to use only two keys one of them engaging each base flange of the rail, and one of said keys also engaging the base of the rail brace. Of course where it is unnecessary the brace can be dispensed with.

In constructing the tie herein described the projections 3 and 7 are struck from a sheet of metal and the sheet is folded and the edges secured together to form the body 1. The openings are also formed in the tie at the proper point prior to this folding. hen the tie is placed upon the roadbed the projections or lips 3 bite thereinto and prevent creeping. After the rails and the braces have been properly positioned on the tie the keys are inserted into the openings 15 with their buttons 19 alining and arranged so as to enter the slots 23. This is permissible in view of the fact that the keys a and Z) taper or gradually diminish in transverse area from their heads 16v toward their other ends and the buttons 24 are of substantially the same transverse area asthe large ends of the keys.

The spring strip 22 is then drawn up ward over these buttons and the keys turned so that the buttons will extend transversely of the slots. Said keys are then lowered until the angular portions of their stems become seated within the openings 15 and the heads 16 lap the parts to be secured. The end plate 26 is then placed on the tongue 25 of the spring, said tongue being seated within the opening 29 and the spring strip is forced downward sufflciently to permit the end plate to be inserted into the end of the tie. A cotter pin 31 or other suitable means is then inserted into the opening 30 and all of the parts thus securely held together. It will be apparent that the spring 22 will exert a downward pull upon all of the keys and in order that this pull may be equalized it is the intention to make the keys of diflerent lengths, the shorter key being arranged nearest the pivot bolt 20while the longest one is arranged nearest the end plate 26.

In order that the spring may be properly depressed it is desirable to employ a special form of tool such as shown in Fig. 7. This tool consists of a lever 32 having a link 33 adjustablyand pivotally connected to it. One end of the lever is designed to be in serted through notches 34 and 35 formed in the top of the tie at the end thereof and in the upper edge of the end plate respectively,

said notches registering and forming an open-' ing sufficiently large to receive the end of the lever. By inserting said end through this opening and placing the link 33 upon the tongue 25 the spring can be pressed downward by pushing downward on the handle portion of the lever and while it is thus depressed the plate 26 can be inserted into the end of the tie. It will of course be under stood that other forms of tools can be utilized for this purpose.

In some instances, particularly where the tie is used upon bridges, etc., means other than the lips 3 are desirable to prevent longitudinal movement of the ties. In Fig. 8 a modified construction is shown-for this pur pose, the same consisting of a threaded stem 36 screwed into the bottom of the tie and having a head 37. One or more of these heads is arranged adjacent each end portion of the tie and they are designed to bear against the side beams of the bridge or trestle.

It will be seen that by providing a tie and fastener such as herein described the use of nuts and threaded bolts for the purpose of securing rails in position, is unnecessary. Moreover, the keys a and b beside firmly clamping the parts to the tie, are capable of yielding upwardly to a limited extent to al low for expansion and contraction of the parts and to give the requisite life or movement to the parts which is so necessary to permit smooth traveling over the rails. Obviously should the spring become broken hollow body;

from any cause the rails will remain fastened to the tie because it would be necessary to lift each key a predetermined distance and then turn it before the rails could become released from the tie. The danger of rails spreading as a-result of the release of the fastening devices, is therefore eliminated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railway tie the combination with a hollow body; of rail engaging keys insertible into the body, and spring retaining means movably mounted within the body and engaged by said keys.

2. In a railway tie the combination with a hollow body; of rail engaging keys insertible into the body, a spring retaining device movably mounted within the body and engaged by the keys, and means engaging the body for holding said device under tension.

3. In a railway tie the combination with a hollow body; of rail engaging keys insertible into the body, a spring retaining device movably mounted within the body and detachably engaged by the keys, and an end plate within the body for holding said device under tension.

4. In a railway tie the combination with a hollow body; of rail engaging keys insertible into the body, a spring retaining device movably mounted within the body and detachably engaged by the keys, an end plate within the body for holding said device under tension, and means engaging said device for holding the end plate in position within the tie.

5. In a railway tie the combination with a of rail engaging keys insertible into the body, a retaining spring movably mounted within the body and having key re ceiving slots, said spring having transverse corrugations intersected by the slots and constituting seats for the keys, and means for holding the s ring under tension.

6. In a raifivay tie the combination with a hollow body; of rail engaging keys insertible into the body, a retaining spring movably mounted within the body and having key receiving slots, said spring having transverse corrugations intersected by the slots and constituting seats for the keys, and a closure for one end of the tie body and engaging the spring to hold said spring under tension.

7. In a railway tie the combination with a hollow sheet metal tie body; of rail engaging keys insertible into the body, each key comprising a head, a stem having an angular and a rounded portion and an elongated button, and yieldable means detachably engaging the keys for binding their heads in contact with a rail.

8. In a railway tie the combination with a hollow sheet metal tie body; of rail engaging keys insertible into the body, each key comprising a head, a stem having an angular and a rounded portion and an elongated button, a spring strip movablymounted within the tie and having slots for the reception of the buttons, said buttons being revoluble to extend transversely of the slots, and means engaging said strip to hold it under tension.

9. The combination with a hollow tie body having an upstruck projection thereon; of a rail brace bearing against said projection and comprisin a base and an upstanding arm, a lug extenc ing from the base and into the tie body, a combined rail and base engaging key insertible into the body, and'a' spring strip movably mounted within the tie and engaging the key.

10. The combination with a hollow tie body having an upstruck projection thereon; of a rail brace bearing against said projection and comprising a base and an upstanding arm, a lug extending from the base and into the tie body, a combined rail and base engaging key insertible into the body, a spring strip movably mounted within the tie and en gaging the key, an end plate within the tie and engaging said strip to hold it under tension, and means within the strip for holding the end plate within the body.

11. A railway tie comprising a tie body consisting of a sheet of metal secured together along its longitudinal edges, upstruck stop projections upon said body, downwardly extending projections upon said body and constituting anti-creeping devices, end plates insertible into the body and having integral projecting portions for engaging said body, and means secured within the body and eX- tending through the end plates for holding said plates against displacement.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK SCHELL.

Witnesses:

H. W. CHAMBERLIN, WILLIAM G. MURDocK. 

